The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) said on Tuesday 16 November that it was suspending the Nord Stream 2 certification procedure due to the legal structure of the company operating the pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG.
Based in Switzerland, Nord Stream 2 AG decided not to change its existing legal form, but to establish a subsidiary under German law solely for the German part of the pipeline (Nord Stream 2 connects Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea).
However, in order to comply with German law, this subsidiary has to become the owner and operator of the German part of the pipeline and meet the requirements of an independent transmission operator as defined in German law.
The pipeline certification procedure will therefore remain suspended until the main assets and human resources have been transferred to the subsidiary and it provides full documentation to the German regulator. Once these conditions have been met, the German Federal Network Agency will resume its examination and transmit a draft decision to the European Commission, observing the 4-month deadline.
Ukraine’s energy group Naftogaz, which had been strongly opposed to Nord Stream 2, welcomed the German decision. At the same time, the German Ministry of Economy stressed that these were purely regulatory issues.
See the German regulator’s press release: https://bit.ly/30wFNus (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)